Not In Love
by untitledmind
Summary: In which Misty is right and Ash is (apparently) wrong. Warning: contains Rocketshipping and Pokéshipping. If either of these things offend you, I don't want to hear about it, so turn away! Edit: the issue where I randomly had another story at the end has been fixed.


**I thought I'd try my hand at Rocketshipping. I find it hard to come by Rocketshipping done right, so I figured I'd give it a shot. :P In case I messed up Jessie and James at all, I added some Ash and Misty loving because I know I can write that alright. They're my fallback for this one. **

**I'd like to point out that I'm still undecided on Rocketshipping. Like I want it to happen but I also want James to be so flamboyantly gay. XD It's a battle for me. But I figured it was worth trying out. I think I can go either way on James' sexuality, but this was an interesting challenge. I hope you find it as fun as I did!**

**On with it then: ****_Not In Love_****, feat. Pokéshipping.**

* * *

_**Not In Love**_

"Do you ever think we should quit chasing after the twerp and his Pikachu?"

Jessie choked on her rice and stared wide-eyed at her partner across the aged table of the trainers' lodge. James immediately realized his mistake and leaned over the table to punch the woman's back as she coughed.

"Jessie! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

After regaining her bearings, Jessie took a deep breath to calm herself down.

It didn't work.

"JAMES, YOU IDIOT, WHY WOULD YOU GIVE ME A LIFE-CHANGING IDEA WHILE I'M EATING WHAT LITTLE FOOD WE HAVE!? NEVER ASK ME THAT AGAIN, YOU LITT-"

Meowth, who had wandered into the kitchen area during Jessie's tirade, caught site of James whimpering and immediately turned back into the living room.

"I'm not listenin' to dem twos argue ta'night," he grumbled, settling himself down to nap on the recliner.

James, who was cowering from Jessie under the table, deeply envied Meowth, who he had just seen retreat to the recliner.

_Then again, I can sort of see up Jessie's—_

"-JAMES! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

James, who, admittedly, had not been listening to Jessie screaming at him, put his best terrified whimper back on, and nodded. Jessie sighed, but it was more like a scoff. James hoped she wasn't going to be mad at him for the entire day now, but he knew that was like dreaming of sliding down rainbows and falling into pots of bottle caps.

Unreal.

However, it was safe to say that James was stunned when he saw his volatile partner's gloved hand offering to pull him up. He looked up into her face and found a calm expression with what _looked _like a small smile. Gently, he took her hand and he was lifted from the floor.

"What am I going to do with you?" Jessie took her hand from his and brought to a rest on her forehead.

"Hopefully not hit me," James quipped.

"No, I suppose not," Jessie sighed.

James looked around the kitchen wildly, looking for the _real _Jessie.

"Why are you looking around like that!?" she snapped, roughly pushing his shoulder. "Let's go for a walk, you nitwit."

"A walk?" James dumbly replied, head tilted in confusion. He looked out the nearby window.

Twilight.

Jessie's twirly magenta hair whipped in front of his face as she turned toward the living room and ultimately, the front door.

"A. Walk."

The irritated response came at the same time James regained the use of his legs. He walked to the front door, where Jessie was standing, and opened it for the both of them.

"Let no one say that James of Team Rocket is not a gentleman!"

Jessie rolled her eyes again, that same small smile playing on her lips. This is how it always was anymore. They'd argue, fight, and get beaten up (well, James got beaten up) during the day. But at night, the forbidden passion was a seasoned werewolf in the moonlight: dark, forbidden, and _now completely_ _natural. _

No one could never know of this volatile, forbidden fruit.

No one could ever know that by night, Jessie and James' bodies sparked together like static electricity and _they liked it._

No one could ever know that James had strayed from his sexuality and had _maybe _fallen in love with Jessie,

No one could ever know that Jessie secretly didn't hate her best friend like she always appeared to in front of everyone, sans Meowth. But not even Meowth could ever know that _maybe _she had strong feelings for James.

Love, on the other hand, was something presently unattainable to the feminine, vehement Team Rocket member. It was beyond her capacity when what she needed to do was focus on Team Rocket's eternal mission of capturing Pikachu (which was why she didn't answer James' original question). At least, that's what she told herself.

So, as she and James walked down a deserted path in the dark green forest, she firmly grabbed his matching hand in her own.

James tried to suppress a shiver.,

He told himself it was from the crisp fall air.

_It wasn't._

* * *

Eighteen-year-olds Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower walked hand in hand down a deserted path in an unfamiliar forest.

"Ash, I can't believe you got us lost," Misty sighed, shaking her head. "Why I decided to travel with you again, I have no idea. Especially since there's no one else here."

"Pikapik pikachu," Pikachu agreed, tiredly.

"Hey! Go back to sleep, Pikachu. You'll just side with her," Ash growled.

"Pi."

Soft snores came from Ash's left shoulder for the rest of the evening.

"Mist, I'm pretty sure the reason you wanted to come with me was _because _no one else is here... And I did NOT get us lost!"

"Ashton, that almost sounded witty, but you ruined it by reminding me that you got us lost."

"Stop it with that Ashton business."

"Stop getting us lost."

"Oh please, _me _being responsible for us getting lost is about as likely as us running into Jessie and James _kissing_."

"That was a weird thing to say." Misty sniffed the mountain-fresh air and sighed deeply. It was beginning to get cold as the sun was no longer out. She rubbed her bare arm with her free hand.

_I don't know why I thought the short shorts, crop top, and suspenders thing was a good idea _again.

"Why's that weird?" Ash turned towards his girlfriend. "James is obviously gay."

"I wouldn't be so sure! He and Jessie totally have a thing. Everyone can tell!"

"Hey, everyone thinks James is gay! I've _heard _him say stuff about staying out of the trouble of the opposite sex! We were in the Orange Archipelago with that whole business with Articuno, Moltres, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, but then Meowth said that Jessie and James don't need the opposite sex because they have each other!"

"Misty, the man cross-dresses _all the time_. He's gay, alright?" Ash said, with a heavy note of finality.

"He's in love with Jessie!" Misty fired back.

"Maybe he's both!" At this, Misty stopped walking, hand still intertwined with Ash's.

"What?"

"I dunno, what do they call that? Bisexual?" Misty blinked. This thought certainly hadn't occurred to her. However, she was much more worried that Ash might be right and her wrong.

"There's no way to prove that one," Misty replied defensively.

"I'm asking him next time they try to take Pikachu."

"Ash, you can't just ask people their sexual preference when they're trying to steal from you!" Misty exclaimed, letting go of his hand and bringing it to her left hip.

"Why not?" Ash exasperatedly asked, throwing his arms out to his sides.

"Because it's inappropriate!"

Ash stared incredulously at his girlfriend, shivering from the cold with her hands on her hips.

"Take my jacket," Ash broke from the dispute, moving to take off his backpack so he could remove the fabric from his body.

"No, no, you'll just wake Pikachu. I have my own." Misty took her red sack off her back and bent down to dig for her favorite yellow sweatshirt, adorned with a big purple Starmie on the front. It was an ugly sweatshirt, but Misty loved it. Ash had given it to her for one of her birthday presents this year, saying it reminded him of her because of the Starmie and because it was yellow. Misty had winced slightly at the sight of the thing, but as soon as Ash made her try it on, she fell in love with the soft cotton fabric.

When she was finished pulling her large sweatshirt over her head, the material hanging over her body loosely, she closed up her bag and stood up straight, throwing it back over her shoulder. She took a good look at her boyfriend and noticed his dumbfounded expression as he stared over her head.

"What is it? Is there a bug on my head? GET IT O-" Misty began to screech, but Ash cupped his hand over her mouth.

"Shh!"

Misty licked Ash's hand.

"Ew!" Ash pulled away, wiping his soiled palm on the back of his pants.

"What's your problem, Ash?"

Remembering why he'd shut Misty up in the first place, he slowly pointed over her head, that same stupefied expression gracing his young features.

Misty, ever the curious one, whipped her head around, her bright red ponytail whacking Ash in the face.

Not that she cared.

What Misty _did_ care about however, was being right. And as she and Ash gazed at the scene before them in the nearby bushes, Misty gave Ash her widest smirk. Ash, however, was still too shocked to tear his eyes away from the clearing that had become the object of the couple's attention.

A scrawny lavender-haired man and his swirly-haired counterpart, both dressed in very familiar uniforms, were engaged in a rather heated lip-lock. His gloves caressed the revealed skin of her waist while her gloves caressed his torso against his black bodysuit.

Unbeknownst to the "couple", their sworn enemies watched them from the bushes, one mouth agape and one curled into a devastating smirk.

Misty took Ash's hand once more and led him away from the bushes, instead returning to the path they had previously come down.

"Come on, Ashy, let's leave them alone."

"But—bu—I thought... I thought James was..." Ash paused. "Wait a sec. Ashy? Did you just call me Ashy?"

"Yeah, so?"

Ash groaned, letting go of her hand and throwing his arm across Misty's waist.

"That's worse than Ashton." Misty giggled in response and put her own arm across Ash's back, her hand coming to a rest on the slumbering Pikachu, who had missed the entire evening's affair.

"I love my boys," Misty laughed once more, glancing once at Pikachu and then her companion. Ash smiled before muttering something under his breath.

"I guess James doesn't love his..."

* * *

**That's all! Kudos to nyislandersgirl for giving me the basic idea. :)**

**Let me know how I did!**


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